Literacy rate of young men vs. women in South Africa
South Africa: Literacy rate of young men vs. women was 96.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate of young men vs. women in South Africa, 1980–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rate of young men vs. women in South Africa is 96.3%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate of young men vs. women in South Africa peaked at 98.7% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 85.3%, in 1980.
South Africa ranks 52nd of 95 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Literacy rate of young men vs. women in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 85.3% | — |
| 1996 | 93.5% | +9.5% |
| 2007 | 97.0% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 97.9% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 98.4% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 98.4% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 98.7% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 98.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 95.8% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 98.0% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 95.9% | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 96.3% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 85.3% | 85.3% | 85.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 93.5% | 93.5% | 93.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 97.5% | 97.0% | 97.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 98.1% | 95.8% | 98.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 96.1% | 95.9% | 96.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 181,739 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 339,638 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,708 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 407,696 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.50 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.52 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.119 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate of young men vs. women in South Africa?
- Literacy rate of young men vs. women in South Africa was 96.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate of young men vs. women recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 98.7% in 2014.
- What is the lowest literacy rate of young men vs. women recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 85.3% in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for literacy rate of young men vs. women?
- South Africa ranks 52nd out of 95 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate of young men vs. women rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate of young men vs. women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of men aged 15 to 24 years who can read and write.